There will be festivities at the airport, with volunteers available to help them navigate customs and any language barriers. All 300-plus passengers from the flight will be offered a welcome dinner at the Carnegie Science Center.

As part of their tour package, some travelers also will spend time in Pittsburgh riding the incline, taking in the sights from Mount Washington, and visiting the Carnegie museums in Oakland and the University of Pittsburgh nationality rooms before leaving for other cities.

Local officials are hoping that the visitors’ first impressions of the Steel City will be positive and that they will take to the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms to spread the news.